Geranium phaeum cultivar xe2x80x98Springtimexe2x80x99.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant, botanically known as Geranium phaeum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Springtime.
The new Geranium originated from a chance cross-pollination of two unidentified selections of Geranium phaeum, not patented. The new Geranium was discovered by the Inventor in 1999 in Hummelo, The Netherlands. Plants of the new Geranium differed primarily from plants of the unidentified parental selections in leaf and flower coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by cuttings in Hummelo, The Netherlands since 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Springtime have not been observed under all possible environmental and cultural conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, irrigation amount and frequency, and/or fertilizer rate without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Springtimexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Springtimexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright plant habit.
2. Variegated leaves.
3. Dark purple-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Geranium can be compared to plants of the Geranium cultivar Samobor, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hummelo, The Netherlands, plants of the new Geranium differed from of the cultivar Samobor in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Geranium had variegated foliage whereas plants of the cultivar Samobor had solid green foliage.
2. Plants of the new Geranium had darker purple-colored flowers than plants of the cultivar Samobor.